DP-203 Design and implement data storage Practice Question
You are designing a change data capture (CDC) pipeline to ingest incremental changes from an on-premises SQL Server database into Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2. The pipeline must run every 5 minutes and handle high-volume DML changes. Which Azure service should you use to capture the changes with low latency?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse Azure Data Factory's copy activity (which requires manual change tracking) with the mapping data flow's native CDC source, leading them to choose option C or D, which are better suited for different ingestion patterns.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Azure Data Factory with a change data capture (CDC) source in the mapping data flow.
Azure Data Factory's mapping data flow includes a native CDC source that can connect to SQL Server and capture incremental DML changes (inserts, updates, deletes) with low latency. This approach uses change tracking or change data capture features in SQL Server to identify changes, and the pipeline can run every 5 minutes to meet the high-volume requirement without custom coding.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Azure Data Share to share the SQL Server data and capture changes.
Why it's wrong here
Data Share is for sharing snapshots, not real-time CDC.
- ✓
Azure Data Factory with a change data capture (CDC) source in the mapping data flow.
Why this is correct
ADF supports CDC from SQL Server with low latency via mapping data flows.
- ✗
Azure Synapse Pipelines with a copy activity that uses a query to capture changes.
Why it's wrong here
Though possible, ADF is the primary service for CDC pipelines.
- ✗
Azure Databricks with Auto Loader and Delta Live Tables to capture changes.
Why it's wrong here
Auto Loader is for file ingestion, not for database CDC.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DP-203 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DP-203 exam.